Tag: oil

“President Trump’s administration is reportedly seeking a 72 percent cut to the budget of Department of Energy programs related to energy efficiency and renewable energy,” The Hill reports. “Draft budget documents obtained by The Washington Post show the Trump administration will ask for $575.5 million in spending for the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The office’s current spending level is set at $2.04 billion for the fiscal year.”

That’s a great start and we should not just isolate this aspect of the energy sector; it should extend to ALL sectors. Renewable energy subsidies distort the free market and keep electricity prices high for all of us. This distortion is true in all areas of government subsidies.

Farm subsidies, crony capitalism, sugar, golf courses, corporate welfare, oil, etc. The list of subsidies provided by the federal, state and local governments is nearly endless. It has become so entrenched in our society that we no longer know the true cost of anything Americans purchase.

So, while the different levels of government in our country try to push various agendas to make our world “better,” they all-to-often go the wrong way and almost always with unintended consequences. Additionally, one cannot forget the corruption that quickly follows most subsidy programs.

Yesterday, May 4, 2015, Bill Gates (co-founder of Microsoft), along with Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway were interviewed on CNBC by Becky Quick. When the three were asked about their opinions on the minimum wage debate, they all sounded like David and Charles Koch. Buffett said yesterday morning, “If you increase the minimum wage dramatically, you are going to change the number of people employed in a significant way. I do want to see people with more money in their pocket, low-income people, and I think the earned income tax credit is a far superior way. It rewards work and it does not destroy the normal demand-supply curve.”

Like most business people, the Kochs feel a government enforced wage standard often works against the very people it purports to help; and Democratic supporters such a Buffett and Gates feel the same. Charles and David Koch are Republicans who support Republican candidates. In response to President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union speech, the Libertarian Party responded with, “Mr. President, your attempts to raise the minimum wage will destroy one of the most important forms of education in this country. Many young people develop responsibility and marketable skills in entry-level, minimum-wage jobs. Those skills make workers more attractive to future employers.”

Yesterday, April 18, 2014, the Obama administration through the U.S. State Department, announced it would delay a decision on whether to permit the Keystone XL pipeline to be built in the United States. The delay is expected to last until after the November, 2014 election, providing cover for Democrats over the controversial pipeline. In its statement, the department said, “The Permit process will conclude once factors that have a significant impact on determining the national interest of the proposed project have been evaluated and appropriately reflected in the decision documents.”